Recommendation calls for raises for all county employees

Published: Monday, May 20, 2013 at 10:38 PM.

GRAHAM — A 3.5-cent property tax rate increase was part of County Manager Craig Honeycutt’s recommended budget presented to the Alamance County Board of Commissioners Monday night.

Honeycutt said the property tax rate increase would provide the county with an additional $4.2 million in 2013-14. If approved, the county’s new property tax rate would be 55.5 cents per $100 of assessed value.

“Tax increases are never popular,” Honeycutt said. “However, if you look at the issues that the county has dealt with the past four years, they are sometimes necessary to ensure that we maintain an adequate fund balance, a good workforce, funding for public safety needs, facilities, schools, and being proactive with some of our building maintenance. We have continually cut expenses, but we are now at a point where we must be proactive as we move forward.”

The county’s current property tax is 52 cents per $100 of assessed value. In 2010, the county decreased the rate from 58 cents to 52 cents after a revaluation, a move that pushed the rate below revenue neutral. Since the revaluation in 2009, the county has lost $9,109,319 in revenue due to the rate being below that benchmark.

Honeycutt’s recommended budget also calls for a 5 percent raise for all county employees in 2013-14. County employees haven’t had a pay raise since July 1, 2008. The 5 percent raise would cost the county $1.7 million to implement.

The recommended budget, if approved, would provide the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office sworn employees and detention officers with a 9 percent raise and non-sworn Sheriff’s Office employees with a 5 percent raise. Sheriff Terry Johnson has worked with Honeycutt since April 15 to develop a staffing and retention plan to reduce his department’s turnover and improve morale.

Overall, the recommended budget for the county in 2013-14 is for $146,311,539 in total appropriations. The recommended general fund is for $127,807,691.

GRAHAM — A 3.5-cent property tax rate increase was part of County Manager Craig Honeycutt’s recommended budget presented to the Alamance County Board of Commissioners Monday night.

Honeycutt said the property tax rate increase would provide the county with an additional $4.2 million in 2013-14. If approved, the county’s new property tax rate would be 55.5 cents per $100 of assessed value.

“Tax increases are never popular,” Honeycutt said. “However, if you look at the issues that the county has dealt with the past four years, they are sometimes necessary to ensure that we maintain an adequate fund balance, a good workforce, funding for public safety needs, facilities, schools, and being proactive with some of our building maintenance. We have continually cut expenses, but we are now at a point where we must be proactive as we move forward.”

The county’s current property tax is 52 cents per $100 of assessed value. In 2010, the county decreased the rate from 58 cents to 52 cents after a revaluation, a move that pushed the rate below revenue neutral. Since the revaluation in 2009, the county has lost $9,109,319 in revenue due to the rate being below that benchmark.

Honeycutt’s recommended budget also calls for a 5 percent raise for all county employees in 2013-14. County employees haven’t had a pay raise since July 1, 2008. The 5 percent raise would cost the county $1.7 million to implement.

The recommended budget, if approved, would provide the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office sworn employees and detention officers with a 9 percent raise and non-sworn Sheriff’s Office employees with a 5 percent raise. Sheriff Terry Johnson has worked with Honeycutt since April 15 to develop a staffing and retention plan to reduce his department’s turnover and improve morale.

Overall, the recommended budget for the county in 2013-14 is for $146,311,539 in total appropriations. The recommended general fund is for $127,807,691.

The recommended budget allocates $32.6 million for the Alamance-Burlington School System and $2.9 million for Alamance Community College.

Honeycutt said his recommended budget does not use any fund balance to offset expenses and would add $1.5 million to the fund balance by June 30, 2014. The recommended budget also allocates $265,000 for County EMS to be used towards purchasing two ambulances and equipment. Honeycutt said $63,700 is allocated for County Recreation and Parks to help with Eli Whitney Recreation Center roof repairs.

A public hearing will be held at 7 p.m. June 3 at Williams High School regarding the recommended budget.

Commissioner David Smith said he didn’t agree with everything in the proposal but he thought Honeycutt and his staff did a good job developing it. Commissioner Bill Lashley expressed some concerns that he believed Honeycutt had not cut enough positions especially in the inspections department in his recommended budget.

Commissioner Tim Sutton asked Honeycutt to provide him with information regarding the county’s sales and property tax revenues since 2009.